Thank You for Your Service

With the announcement that Carmelo Anthony had retired from the NBA, many of his former teams and teammates offered well-wishes and congratulations on a Hall-of-Fame career. A prolific offensive force, Melo finished as the NBA's 9th all-time leading scorer.

Among the many accolades Anthony has received, is the repeated notion that the Knicks should retire his number. Please place me squarely in the opposite camp: as much as Anthony was the star attraction during his time in New York, the Knicks are under no obligation to hang his #7 jersey from the MSG rafters.

For one, the Knicks are not the Yankees. For the past decade or so, the main criteria for getting your number retired in the Bronx seems to be "He was a pretty popular player over the portion of his career that he played in New York."  (I'm looking at you, Paul O'Neill.) The Knicks have been far more discerning, having last retired a number in 2003 for a true franchise legend, Patrick Ewing.

There are several factors, for me, that work against Anthony. The Knicks didn't draft him, and Anthony was a Denver Nuggets star for nearly eight years before finagling a trade to the Knicks. In fact, only 7 of his 19 seasons were spent in a Knicks' uniform. By comparison, Earl "the Pearl" Monroe didn't enter the league as a Knick, but he spent the majority of his career in New York and retired in a Knicks' jersey.

Due to his relatively short time in orange-and-blue, Melo doesn't own any Knicks' career records. Anthony's 24.7 PPG is the third-best mark in franchise history, but he's only 7th on the Knicks' scoring list. He's 3rd all-time in 3-pointers made, but that's largely due to the era in which he played. Also, unlike a Ewing or Walt Frazier, Anthony's contributions were largely in the scoring column. 

Lastly, Anthony never won a championship in New York. In fact, Melo's teams only made the playoffs 3 times, and never advanced beyond the conference semis. This is probably less of a knock on Carmelo than the franchise itself, but for a one-dimensional, non-Knick-lifer, something needs to put you over the top for a jersey retirement ceremony. The stats from Mark Messier's time in Edmonton might dwarf his numbers with the Rangers, but no one will ever forget the 1994 champions. Messier is a Ranger for life.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks held a Carmelo Anthony Night next season. He would certainly deserve the recognition for his time with the Knicks. But I'd be disappointed in Knicks' management (and ownership) if the night consisted of much more than a highlight reel, a plaque and a rousing ovation.